Three-hour London-Edinburgh/Glasgow journey times could be achieved by upgrading existing railways, according to a new report by HS2 Ltd - though options for extending High-Speed 2 (HS2) could prove more beneficial.
Broad options for upgraded and high-speed railways to the North of England and Scotland sets out possibilities including extending HS2 to Scotland and upgrading the existing West Coast and East Coast main lines.
HS2 Ltd has not set out its preferred option or route at this stage but has detailed some possibilities for achieving improved rail capacity and journey times to Scotland.
In November 2013, the Department for Transport commissioned HS2 Ltd to undertake a feasibility study to explore broad options for improving rail capacity and journey times to the North of England and Scotland.
- For more on this, read RAIL 797, published on March 30.
Adrian Taylor - 24/03/2016 14:25
A welcome article on what must be a sensible extension of HS2 up to Glasgow/Edinburgh. A new alignment around Lancaster would be needed given the speed restriction through the station, probably following the M6 alignment and taking into account the villages on the opposite side of the Motorway to Lancaster. One would thought however that a new alignment past Penrith perhaps again following the M6 would be required given the track curvature through the station. I would have hoped that Carlisle like Preston would be kept on the route given that both are important junctions giving connections to a wide range of areas. What the article did not discuss however was the route between Lancaster and Penrith given that it runs between the Lake District National Park and the newly protected areas around the Howgills. A good deal of sensitivity will be required as the potential opposition will make whats happening now look like a teddy bears picnic. I find it strange that HS2 Ltd seem to want to end the current line at Golborne Junction rather than nearer to Euxton Junction as that would bypass the curvatures at Wigan unless there has been a lot of building going on which would make that impossible. My family come from the Lancaster area and some still live round there. I have worked in the Carlisle area and so am familiar with it including travelling on West Coast and Settle to Carlisle lines and driving on the M6.